Adolescent Alcohol And Tobacco Use/abuse: The Efficacy Of A Brief Motivational Interviewing And Skills Training Program
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$153,610.00
Summary
Alcohol abuse (regular and episodic heavy drinking) and tobacco use are common and increasing amongst young Australians. Around 49% of adolescents are regular drinkers, and 15.5% of females and 33% of males are occasional binge drinkers. Between 17.5% and 35.5% of adolescents smoke and this has increased from 1987. While the majority of young Australians moderate their drinking and smoking over time, about 5% will become heavy drinkers and 20% will become regular smokers. The public health conse ....Alcohol abuse (regular and episodic heavy drinking) and tobacco use are common and increasing amongst young Australians. Around 49% of adolescents are regular drinkers, and 15.5% of females and 33% of males are occasional binge drinkers. Between 17.5% and 35.5% of adolescents smoke and this has increased from 1987. While the majority of young Australians moderate their drinking and smoking over time, about 5% will become heavy drinkers and 20% will become regular smokers. The public health consequences of heavy drinking and smoking are now well documented. There are many studies exploring the effectiveness of universal prevention programs designed to reduce the chance of alcohol and tobacco problems in high school students. These are associated with short term reductions in the chance of smoking and heavy drinking, however it is unclear whether these programs work for adolescents who are at high risk of alcohol problems and sustained smoking. We know a lot about the sorts of risk factors associated with these problems. They include early onset of use, parental involvement and use, particular personality traits, poor marks, peer use, and poor social skills. There is no research that clearly evaluates prevention programs for adolescents who show these risk factors. In this research, a program tailored for high-risk adolescents will be compared to an educational program similar to what is often received in Australian high schools. It is expected that high-risk students will not show changes in the educational program, but will show long-term improvements after completing the enhanced program. If these results hold, the research will have very important implications for detecting high-risk students and modifying the ways in which these adolescents are treated so that we minimise the chance of further development of alcohol and tobacco problems. This could result in large health cost savings in the future.Read moreRead less
Double Blind Randomised Controlled Trial Of Electronic Alcohol Screening And Brief Intervention (e-SBI) For Hospital Outpatients
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$370,168.00
Summary
Since alcohol consumption is linked to more than 60 different medical conditions and is the most common preventable risk factor associated with injuries in Australia, interventions that can reduce these harms are needed. This study is designed to determine whether a computer-based brief alcohol intervention reduces hazardous drinking among hospital outpatients. If effective, the intervention could be implemented nationally as part of routine service delivery.
Optimising Heart Disease Prevention And Management
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$4,647,175.00
Summary
As we become older and risk factors such as obesity become more common, our biggest contributor to death and disability, cardiovascular disease (including heart disease), will continue to exert an enormous burden on our health care system and society. We will extend our ground-breaking research on multidisciplinary teams to create new and innovative health care programs to optimise the prevention and management of new heart disease and chronic forms of heart disease.
TRIP Fellowship: Bridging The Evidence Practice Gap In Secondary Prevention In Stroke
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$146,247.00
Summary
Various medications have been shown to reduce the risk of recurrent vascular disease after stroke. This study aims to improve the frequency of use of these medications in patients discharged from hospital after a stroke.
Be Healthy: Implementing Culturally Secure Programs For Obesity And Chronic Disease Prevention With Remote Aboriginal Communities And Families
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,499,972.00
Summary
Environments cultivated in recent decades encouraging physical inactivity and poor diet have disproportionately affected Aboriginal people. Appropriate lifestyle modification programs substantially improves outcomes. We have co-designed, piloted and refined the 'Be Healthy' program with Derby Aboriginal people. This project aims to show how this program can be scaled up and transferred to other Aboriginal communities, leading to reduced rates of obesity, and improved health and quality of life.
An International Randomised Trial Of Low-dose Aspirin To Prevent Recurrent Venous Thromboembolism (INSPIRE)
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,989,986.00
Summary
Patients who develop venous blood clots or pulmonary embolism, without an underyling cause, are at very high risk of recurrence once anticoagulant treatment (warfarin) is discontinued. The international INSPIRE trial is assessing whether low-dose aspirin treatment (a simple and cheap alternative to warfarin) is effective and safe in preventing further blood clots. If proven effective, aspirin could potentially prevent thousands of patients worldwide from experiencing such events.
Low-dose Aspirin To Prevent Recurrent Venous Thromboembolism (ASPIRE) Study: A Multicentre Randomised Trial
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,108,600.00
Summary
In approximately one-third of patients who develop deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism, this event is 'unprovoked' . These patients are at very high risk of recurrence once treatment with warfarin is discontinued. Warfarin treatment is very effective to prevent recurrence but is inconvenient because it has to be very closely monitored with blood tests and also causes serious bleeding complications in a significant number of patients. There are currently no other treatments available to pr ....In approximately one-third of patients who develop deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism, this event is 'unprovoked' . These patients are at very high risk of recurrence once treatment with warfarin is discontinued. Warfarin treatment is very effective to prevent recurrence but is inconvenient because it has to be very closely monitored with blood tests and also causes serious bleeding complications in a significant number of patients. There are currently no other treatments available to prevent recurrent thrombosis. Low-dose aspirin treatment offers a simple, inexpensive, and widely practicable alternative to warfarin but has not yet been proven to be effective for preventing recurrent thrombosis. This study will investigate the effectiveness and safety of aspirin to prevent recurrence in patients with unprovoked deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism who have completed standard anticoagulation with heparin and warfarin. If proven to be effective, aspirin could potentially prevent thousands of patients from experiencing recurrent venous thromboembolism or fatal pulmonary embolism worldwide and also save millions of dollars in health care costs each year.Read moreRead less
Optimising Engagement In Cardiac Secondary Prevention: A Health Literacy Approach
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,562,250.00
Summary
Many people struggle to maintain a healthy lifestyle after a heart attack. Health literacy is the ability to understand and use health information for better health, but little is known about its role in long-term behaviour change. This research will follow 408 people over 2 years to identify whether health literacy impacts upon lifestyle change after a heart attack. The study will also co-design interventions with consumers and clinicians that aim to improve people’s health literacy.